CBS is showing faith in three of its new shows. God Friended Me, Magnum P.I., & The Neighborhood have earned full-season orders at the network. The Neighborhood received the traditional back-nine order which brings it to 22 episodes while it’s being reported that God Friended Me & Magnum P.I. received 7 more episodes.
God Friended Me, starring Brandon Micheal Hall, has been a solid Sunday addition in total viewership, averaging more than 10 million viewers and improving its time period 8% in viewers over last season. The series co-stars Violett Beane, Suraj Sharma, Javicia Leslie, and Joe Morton.
The Magnum P.I. reboot, starring Jay Hernandez, got off to a modest ratings start given its pedigree. But it’s been stable in the adults 18-49 demo, improved the 9 PM hour by 50% over last season’s low-rated comedies, and is a title that sells well internationally, making money for co-producers CBS TV Studios and Universal TV. I also suspect that a future move to Friday nights will likely see the series earning a season 2 renewal when that time because it seems to fit in pretty well there but we’ll have to see if CBS tweaks their schedule or leaves it as it is. The series, which averages more than 9 million viewers a week, co-stars Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Tim Kang, and Amy Hill.
The Neighborhood, starring Cedric the Entertainer and Max Greenfield, has done a respectable job as a new Monday 8 PM anchor. It got off to a solid start with 8.1 million Live+Same Day viewers for the premiere and a 1.3 rating in adults 18-49. It slipped in Week 2 but remained stable in Week 3 and ranks as the highest-rated program on CBS Monday night. It averaged 8 million viewers and improved the 8 PM slot by 14% over Kevin Can Wait‘s performance last fall. The series co-stars Beth Behrs, Tichina Arnold, Sheaun McKinney, Marcel Spears, and Hank Greenspan.
With FBI also earning a full season pickup, the only remaining new fall CBS series that has yet to hear anything on additional episodes or scripts is comedy Happy Together, which has been a subpar ratings performer so far.
